Pennsylvania
SUPER STATE STRATEGY
Our primary objectives in Pennsylvania are to: 1) win the state’s 20 Electoral College votes and 2) break Republican control of the state legislature by flipping one or both chambers.
In the state senate, we are currently targeting five districts—four GOP-held seats and one Democratic hold. With only half of the chamber up for election in 2020, our Senate targets are scattered across the state, including Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Erie, and the Philadelphia suburbs.
In the state house, we are currently targeting 18 districts—15 GOP-held seats and three Democratic holds. Twelve seats are located in Southeast Pennsylvania, close to the Philadelphia metro area and surrounding regions. The remaining six targets are located near Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, and the Pittsburgh suburbs.
By the numbers
4
Seats needed to flip the state senate
9
Seats needed to flip the state house
20
Electoral College votes
PA State Senate targets
PA State House targets
What's at stake
$7.25 minimum hourly wage in Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State Legislature hasn’t passed a minimum wage increase in over a decade, leaving hourly workers at the federal minimum wage of $7.25. In several consecutive legislative sessions, GOP-led committees have blocked bills that would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 by the year 2024. In January 2020, Democratic Governor Tom Wolf proposed a minimum wage increase for the 6th time.
12,537 drilled unconventional wells in Pennsylvania: Oil fracking wells concentrated in and around Pittsburgh were criticized for a possible link to a spike in cases of rare childhood cancers in 2019. The fracking process uses roughly 700 types of chemicals—and many known carcinogens—and is a cause of pollution in the southwest portion of the state.
699,000 Pennsylvanians without health insurance: Even after Pennsylvania expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in 2015, well over half a million residents remain uninsured in the Keystone State, even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Pennsylvanians are more likely to report difficulty paying for medical bills (36%) compared to the general public (26%).
What's at stake facts updated June 2020
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